Today, in many
international arenas, the values and virtues upon which the greatest
achievements of civilization were built are under attack. Certain
organizations, in the name of a false “liberation,” seek to undermine central
truths regarding the nature of the human person and of the family. In the name
of a false doctrine of human rights, they deny what makes men truly human and
violate true human rights.
These groups
have made the Holy See at the United Nations a particular target. They attack
the Holy See’s credentials, ignoring the fact that the Holy See has engaged in
diplomatic relations since the 4th Century and currently exchanges diplomats
with 177 nations. The true ground of their animus, however, is the Holy See’s
steadfast defense of the sanctity of human life and the inviolable dignity of
the family….
Join with the
Member States in gratitude for the spiritual and moral witness of the Holy See
at the United Nations. The world would be far poorer if the voice of the Holy
See within the United Nations were ever silenced. May that day never come.
For more information and to sign the petition,
please visit Defend the Vatican at the UN:
For information about the mission and work of
the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute (C-FAM), please visit:
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I was invited
to serve as a member of the Holy See Delegation to the United Nations
Commission on the Status of Women in 2011.
Truth was absent in UN initiatives being advanced in the name of
“empowerment of women and girls”, as the falsehoods actually being promoted
were reproductive rights, reproductive health, freedom to choose one’s
sexuality (especially for young girls), gender (lesbian, gay, bisexual,
transgender, queer, etc.) Lies,
deception, manipulation were used to attack God’s moral law. A prime example of how some persons use words to
advance their own agenda was a delegate from Greece who quoted Mother Teresa of
Calcutta in order to support the delegate’s promotion of the availability of
abortion. Yes, she quoted Blessed Mother Teresa in order to promote
abortion! It is hard to describe the
palpable sense of evil which pervaded the UNconference building: clearly ungodly work was going on, and
continues to go on. But this is why the
Holy See must be present at the UN: this
is why faithful Catholics must be present at the UN, and in every part of
society, in order to promote and defend the Truth.
Each and every
one of us is called to accomplish our role with faithfulness, courage and
charity, and to put at the Lord’s service the gifts and talents He has given
us. We must strive to develop a well-formed conscience so that we can indeed
stay focused on our Lord as “the way, and the truth, and the life.” (John
14:6)
Whether we are
called to serve the Church “formally” or “informally” we need to be well-formed
in the Catechism and Social Doctrine of the Church, in addition to God’s moral law, so that we are
able to lovingly carry out our baptismal mission to share the Gospel with others.
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| His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI speaking at the UN in 2008 + |
Vatican City, 6 February 2014 (VIS) – Yesterday afternoon Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, permanent observer for the Holy See at the United Nations in Geneva commented on the concluding observations of the United Nations Committee for the Rights of the Child, which were very critical regarding the issue of the abuse of minors by members of the clergy and the actions taken by the Vatican and the Holy See on the matter, and urges revision of the Church's teaching on certain themes such as contraception and abortion.
ReplyDelete“My first impression: we need to wait, read attentively and analyse in detail what the members of this Commission have written”, commented the nuncio. “But my first reaction is of surprise, because of the negative aspects of the document they have produced and that it looks almost as if it were already prepared before the meeting of the Committee with the delegation of the Holy See, which had given in detail precise responses on various points, which have not been reported in this conclusive document or at least have not seemed to be taken into serious consideration. In fact, the document does not seem to be updated, taking into account what, over the last few years, has been done by the Holy See, with the measures taken directly from the authority of Vatican City State and then in various countries by the individual Episcopal Conferences. It therefore lacks a correct and updated perspective, which in reality has seen a series of changes for the protection of children that, it seems to me, are difficult to find, at the same level of commitment, in other institutions or even in other States. This is simply a question of facts, of evidence, which cannot be distorted!”.
With regard to the Holy See's reaction to the document, the archbishop affirmed that “the Holy See will respond, because it is a member, a State that is part of the Convention: it has ratified it and intends to observe it in the spirit and letter of this Convention, without added ideologies or impositions that lie outside of the Convention itself. For instance: in its Preamble, the Convention on the Protection of Children talks about the defence of life and the protection of children before and after birth; whereas the recommendation made to the Holy See is that of changing its position on the question of abortion! Of course, when a child is killed it no longer has rights! Hence this seems to me to be a real contradiction of the fundamental objective of the Convention, which is the protection of children. This Committee has not done a good service to the United Nations, seeking to introduce and request the Holy See to change its non-negotiable teaching! So, it is somewhat sad to see that the Committee has not grasped in depth the nature and functions of the Holy See that, however, has expressed clearly to the Committee its decision to carry forward the Convention's requests on the rights of the child, but defining precisely and protecting first of all those fundamental values that give real and effective protection to the child”.